The Journey may be old, but it’s really just beginning. My journey with Multiple Sclerosis began in 2004. I was a very active person and I had just finished a day of golf. For me the golfing was good, so good in fact, that I decided to buy new golf clubs. Excitedly I took my new golf clubs to the driving range to give them a test run. I bought a bucket of balls, plunked one down and drove it at least a hundred yards with my new driver. I thought, this is no good, and I plunked down another one with much the same result. “Oh well, it’s just golf, and that’s a good way to ease the stress of the working day.” I hit a few more and I suddenly got a weird kink in my neck. “Great,” I thought,” I’m going to spend the next few days with a Kinked neck.
I went home to finish off the rest of the day as I usually do. I tucked my eight-year-old child into bed, kissed my wife, of nine years, good night and fell into a deep slumber. The kink in my neck a distant memory.
I woke up the next morning with my legs feeling numb from the waist down. My feet were especially numb. I thought this rather strange, but continued on with my day. I thought, perhaps this is the result of the weird kink I felt the previous day. I was physically active that day as I prepared to build a stone patio in my backyard. I ran out with my truck to seek out and load up the best, smoothest, rocks I could find. I live in a fairly rocky area so it was easy. It was Monday.
I had to be back at work on the Tuesday, so I made it a fairly easy day. Tuesday morning I woke, with my legs still numb, in journeyed into work on my bike. My legs worked just fine as I peddled through the crisp, cool sunny morning. I’m a police officer, so I threw on my uniform and all its accessories and made my way to the front office/dispatch operator.
The operator and I exchanged the usual morning banter to start the day off right. I told her about the weird numbness and how it had come overnight. She agreed it was weird, but was unusually subdued in her response. She’s typically animated. A busy day continued with calls for service throughout the city and the valley. I got back to the office around mid-day and the dispatcher called me to have a chat.
She first asked me if I had ever considered the numbness to be Multiple Sclerosis. She then went into the story of her mother. Her mother, for as long as she can remember, had a numb hand. So numb she could pick up hot frying pans without flinching. She told me that her mother had MS. At the time of her diagnosis there wasn’t much that could be done for the condition. I told her I had never really thought about MS, and relayed the story of the kink in my neck with my new set of clubs at the driving range.
Wednesday morning came and as I woke I noticed that the numbness had migrated north to my nipple line. I called my doctor, who I also consider to be a friend. He took me in right away and immediately sent me to the district hospital for an MRI. I thought this is going downhill kinda quickly.
I called my wife then drove the 75 kilometres to the hospital. Once there, around nine a.m., I was told I would have to wait a bit and was given some threadbare clothing to put on. I knew the wait meant I was there for the day as there was a nurses strike. To couple the day’s awkwardness the hospital was undergoing construction of a new emergency wing. The MRI is outside in a trailer. I am no expert in MRI equipment, but I think it’s fairly sensitive, delicate, equipment. So I waited the day and finally got taken out back to the trailer. “Somebody pulled some strings for you,” the tech said.
The MRI is a fascinating piece of business. It’s just round enough to fit most average-size people who aren’t claustrophobic. The clawing marks on the walls and ceiling of this tube indicate some past panic. Could almost hear the screaming.
I’m average size, and prior to this day, had never been tested for claustrophobia. I quickly found out that I’m okay in small tubes. I spent the next hour and a half in the grinding noise of this tube. Then I got stuck with some highlighter. more clicking and grinding. Done.
I waltzed out of there happy to be free. I changed then waited for the doctor to review my scans. About 20 minutes passed, and the neurologist on call came in. A man of few words, he told me he had a look at my scan. Then asked if I had ever considered Multiple Sclerosis. To be fair I had not and didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t even know what MS is. Cancer, sure, I Know what that is. Lou Gherig’s disease, I have a clue what that is.
MS – Nope – not a clue. The doc gave me some brochures and sent me home.
The Journey begins.
On The Road With MS 